Woman or girl slain every 2.5 days in Canada in 2018, new report finds

CP train blocked in Toronto, March 12, 2014.

The report found that 148 women and girls were killed in 133 incidents in 2018

The Canadian Press, Jan 30, 2019

A woman or girl was killed every 2.5 days on average in Canada last year, according to an inaugural report on femicide that argues the issue must be better understood in order to reduce the number of slayings.

Indigenous youth set up protest camp outside Toronto’s Old City Hall

From left, Dean Mcleod, Koryn John, Ezra Green and Gary Wassaykeesic at the Soaring Eagles camp outside of Old City Hall in Toronto. (Rhiannon Johnson/CBC )

Soaring Eagles Camp aims to raise awareness about injustices faced by Indigenous people across Canada

By Rhiannon Johnson, CBC News, March 6, 2018

Following the Justice for Tina Fontaine rally this past Sunday in Toronto, a youth-led occupation has set up camp outside Old City Hall in downtown Toronto.

The group set up three tents Sunday on the southwest portion of the grounds of the building that currently functions as a provincial courthouse.

At Regina rally for Tina Fontaine, protesters promise fight to the end against ‘colonial justice’

Protestors march down Victoria Avenue to show their frustration following the acquittal of Raymond Cormier who was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine. BRANDON HARDER / REGwp

Speakers at a protest that briefly blocked traffic at Albert and Victoria say they fear for their children’s lives, and don’t trust the justice system to protect them

by Arthur White-Crummey, Regina Leader-Post, February 25, 2018

Joan Cyr was driving to see her grandchildren on Saturday afternoon when she noticed more than 100 protesters had taken over the intersection ahead of her.

Raymond Cormier found not guilty in death of Tina Fontaine

Tina Fontaine.

The Crown had argued that Cormier convicted himself with his own admissions on secret police recordings. But the defence said numerous forensic holes in the prosecution’s case had left reasonable doubt.

By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, Feb. 22, 2018

WINNIPEG—A not-guilty verdict Thursday for a man who had been accused of killing a 15-year-old First Nations girl he met on the streets prompted immediate reaction from Indigenous leaders who criticized the safety nets that were supposed to keep her safe.

Families reveal pain of Atikamekw children’s mysterious disappearances half a century ago

In the Indigenous communities of Quebec’s Upper Mauricie region, including Obedjiwan, pictured here, there are few families that haven’t been affected by the disappearance of a child. (Archives of the Atikamekw Nation Council)

Indigenous communities of Quebec’s Upper Mauricie region grapple with loss

CBC News, Dec 3, 2017

The hearings held this week into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls on Quebec’s North Shore dredged up painful memories that still haunt families in the northeastern part of the province.

Response plan for missing Indigenous women and girls being developed in Fort St. John, B.C.

People in Fort St. John march for Sisters in Spirit, a group for missing and murdered Indigenous women organized by Connie Greyeyes. (Fort St. John Sisters in Spirit/Facebook)

Plan comes after to Amnesty International report documenting problems in northeast B.C.

By Andrew Kurjata, CBC News, Nov 15, 2017

The Fort St. John Women’s Resource Society is developing a plan aimed at improving community response when Indigenous women and girls go missing in northeast B.C.

The plan is a direct response to a 2016 Amnesty International report documenting the risks Indigenous women and girls face in northeast B.C., and Fort St. John in particular.

MMIW Inquiry hears that RCMP kept information from family for decades

Siblings Roddy and Winnie Sampare hold a photograph of their sister Virginia Sampare.Ian Smith / Vancouver Sun

by John Murray, APTN National News, September 28, 2017

Roddy Sampare stood before the commissioners at the national inquiry hearings in Smithers, B.C. and told the story of his family’s tragedy like he had told it a thousand times before.

“The pain doesn’t go away,” he said. “You know, I was sitting in the other room listening to the people who lost their loved ones through murder. At least some of them had the chance to bury their loved one.

First B.C. hearing for problem-plagued Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Inquiry

Walkers in the ‘Tears 4 Justice’ complete their journey from Prince Rupert, B.C., to Smithers for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. (Briar Stewart/CBC)

by Lori Culbert, Vancouver Sun, September 26, 2017

Vicki Hill paused frequently to compose herself this morning as she told the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women that she has no memory of her mother, who was murdered along the Highway of Tears when she was just a baby.

Pipeline ‘man camps’ loom over B.C.’s Highway of Tears

An industry camp for workers on a pipeline near Rainbow Lake, Alta. is shown on Jan. 27, 2013. Photo by Jason Woodhead on Flickr Creative Commons

By Brandi Morin, National Observer, September 21, 2017

Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation is nestled on the banks of Stuart Lake in north-central British Columbia, surrounded by rolling foothills and tall trees.

It is a relatively remote community, breathtaking in scenery and dependent on economic opportunities in forestry, mining, and pipeline development. It is a community bracing for major change.

Mural: No More Stolen Sisters

Isha Jules in Enderby, BC, at the mural painted to raise awareness that there are 3 missing women in the area since last year. The three women went missing within a month & a half of each other.  Caitlin Potts, Ashley Simpson and Deanna Wertz all missing for 12-16 months now.  All from within Splatsin First Nation and Secwepmeculu.